Thomas Kurtz, co-inventor of BASIC, died two years ago at 96
Yamapama · x · 2026-11-13
Thomas Eugene Kurtz, co-inventor of BASIC, passed away on November 12, 2024, at age 96. BASIC was developed in 1964 at Dartmouth College by Kurtz and John Kemeny to make programming accessible to students and non-experts.
In the 1970s and 80s, BASIC spread rapidly with home computers like the Altair, Apple II, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and IBM PC, teaching millions of kids and hobbyists to code and serving as the entry point for many game developers of the 80s and 90s.
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